Author Archives: stevenmbeard

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About stevenmbeard

I am the chair of Musselburgh Camera Club, and also a software engineer at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre in Edinburgh.

30 April 2026 (AGM and Presentation of Trophies)

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The 2025/26 Musselburgh Camera Club season ended on 30th April 2025 with the AGM and the presentation of trophies. Teas, biscuits and cakes were provided by Jennifer Davidson and Liz Sowler, with help from Karen Woodcock, Jim Innes and others. Although the AGM is our last meeting at the Fisherrow centre this season, we are planning a series of activities through the year, so watch out for notifications or check our latest activities page. The club has a private Facebook page which members can join to be notified about events and to chat during the summer. Click the link below to chat or request to join (you’ll need a Facebook account):

https://m.facebook.com/groups/25703565185901411

Members had an opportunity during the evening to suggest and vote for the topics for next year’s set subject tournament. The top results were:

  1. Travel
  2. City Lights
  3. The Perfect Panorama

which become the themes for next year’s set subject rounds 1, 2 and 3. The AGM finished with a presentation of trophies and medals. The full list of trophy and medal winners can be found on the following page. Well done to all of this year’s winners!

Trophy Winners – 2025/2026

Our club will be hosting a visit by Mölnlycke fotoklubb members on 14th, 15th and 16th May this year. The current plan for their 3 day visit is as follows:

Please watch out for notifications and come along to the activities. Thank you to Ed Robertson, Gavin Marshall and Charlie Baird for offering to help with transport.

The club’s exhibition will be touring local libraries during the summer. Here is the current timetable and list of volunteers. Thank you to everyone who volunteered so far. Please let Steven or Ed know if you would like to volunteer for the 11th July, 25th July or 8th August slots.

We agreed at the AGM to start the next season 3 weeks earlier than usual, so the first meeting of the 2026/27 season will be on Thursday, 13th August 2026. I look forward to seeing you there.

23 April 2026 (Photo Scavenger Hunt)

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Our last meeting of the season was a photo scavenger hunt. Members were given the task of capturing exactly 6 photos in and around the Fisherrow Centre inspired by 6 challenges:

  • The Fisherrow Centre used to be a school, so take a shot that reminds you of school.
  • The walls have just been painted blue, so take a shot of something blue (but not the walls).
  • Let’s see a shot that contains converging lines.
  • This is the end of another photography session, so show something coming to an end.
  • Pick a familar object but show it from a angle that makes it look unusual or unfamilar.
  • Surprise us with a creative shot.

We spent an hour exploring the area and then returned to show the images we had captured. Some members had stayed in room G3, while others had explored the Fisherrow Centre and its grounds, but some intrepid members had ventured as far as the river Esk and Fisherrow beach. The most popular image was the “Girls Entrance” sign, which came up again and again. There were also creative shots of signs, door locks, stairs, flowers, pigeons and gable ends viewed from different angles. It was a fun evening to end our 2025/26 season.

  • The club needs volunteers to help transfer our summer exhibition between libraries on the following dates. Please let Steven or Ed know if you would like to volunteer:
    • Saturday, 11th July: Prestonpans library to Wallyford library (one volunteer needed).
    • Saturday, 25th July: Wallyford library to Musselburgh library (one volunteer needed).
    • Saturday, 8th August: Musselburgh library to Fisherrow centre (one volunteer needed).
  • Next Thursday (30th April) we have our club AGM and prize-giving, which starts at 7pm in room G3. This time we will be starting with refreshments, so please come early if you can and pick up a cup of tea or coffee before we start. Please bring along your ideas for next year’s set subject themes, or email them to Ed if you can’t attend the meeting. See you on Thursday.

02 April 2026 (3-Way Interclub Competition)

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This week we hosted our annual 3-way interclub competition with Haddington Camera Club and Penicuik Photography Club. The competition was judged by artist and photographer Colin Joyce. Each club submitted 15 images each, making a total of 45 images. Colin said all the images submitted were good, and he was only judging them against each other. He described what he liked about each image and suggested how some images could be improved (e.g. by darkening a bright distraction or changing the crop). During the first half, Musselburgh managed to secure best image, with Derek Muller’s “Running Against The Clock” getting 20 points. But Penicuik managed more 18s and 19s and at the end of the first half were ahead of Musselburgh by 138 points to 136, with Haddington close behind at 133 points. The second half began with Penicuik securing another 19 points and pulling further ahead, and they remained in the lead until the second to last round, when George Todd’s “Frosted Whiskers” secured 18 points and brought us level. Then, in the final round, Penicuik scored 18 points with their lovely image “Grey Seal Pup”, but Derek’s “Beauty can be Fragile” portrait scored 19 points and clinched a win for Musselburgh at the last moment. We celebrated by sharing a lavish feast of sandwiches, cakes, scones and hot cross buns with our guests. The final scores were:

  • First place (260 points) Musselburgh Camera Club
  • Second place (259 points) Penicuik Photography Club
  • Third place (250 points) Haddington Camera Club

The top Musselburgh images were:

  • Running Against the Clock (Derek Muller)  – 20 points
  • Between the Poles (George Todd) – 19 points
  • Beauty Can Be Fragile (Derek Muller) – 19 points
  • Strength Against the Current (George Todd) – 18 points
  • Brown Hare Boxing (Jennifer Davidson)  – 18 points
  • Frosted Whiskers (George Todd)  – 18 points

Well done to Musselburgh Camera Club, and especially Derek, George and Jennifer. Thank you Colin for judging and thank you to everyone who helped with the catering. Our guests really liked the spread.

  • Next week Charles Everitt will be visiting Musselburgh Camera Club to tell us about Inchkeith Island.
  • If you are interested in submitting prints to the SPF Annual Portfolio and being part of our club entry, please send JPEG copies of your intended entries to George Todd. George can advise you what to do next. Entries need to be chosen, printed and submitted by 1st May 2026.

26 March 2026 (Set Subject Round 3 – Comedy)

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The last of our 3-part set subject tournament concluded this week, on the theme of “comedy”. We finished round 2 with Derek Muller 5 points ahead. Here we find out if any of the remaining contenders can score enough points to catch up. The competition was judged by Jim Innes, a top scorer in last year’s competition. There were 33 images entered by 11 members. Jim said that the “comedy” theme had been quite hard to judge because everyone had different idea what was funny. He judged each entry on the quality of the image, how funny it was, and how well the title helped the comedy. As usual, members had been very creative in their entries. There were images of comedic acts from the theatre or the Edinburgh festival, including George Todd’s photograph of a comedy act between 2 dogs in costume. There were also comedy wildlife images, pictures of people doing silly things, a comedy still life with googly eyes, and some pictures of fellow club members in silly costumes or jostling to get their camera in the right place. Malcolm Roberts’ photoshopped version of Musselburgh’s “Honest Toun” road sign raised a laugh. Jim commented on the composition, exposure and sharpness of each image and whether he found it funny. Some entries had a funny title but didn’t seem funny in themselves. Nicola Cawthorne’s “Brown Bag Lunch” became funnier after the competition had finished, when we zoomed in to discover that the “lunch” is actually a pigeon! The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 4th place (49 points)
    • Elaine Gilroy
    • Carol Edmond
  • 3rd place (50 points)
    • Malcolm Roberts
    • Mike Clark
    • Derek Muller
  • 2nd place (54 points)
    • John Fowler
    • George Todd
  • 1st place (56 points)
    • Steven Beard
    • Jennifer Davidson

The top images were:

  • The Fruit of All Evil (Steven Beard) – 20 points
  • Help! I’ve Got An Itch! (Jennifer Davidson) – 20 points
  • What Time Is It? My Watch has Stopped (George Todd) – 19 points
  • I Just Need One More Shot (Jennifer Davidson) – 19 points
  • Peeping Penny (John Fowler) – 18 points
  • Hurry Up (John Fowler) – 18 points
  • Ready Steady Woof (John Fowler) – 18 points
  • Funny Faces (Steven Beard) – 18 points
  • How Are You Doing That? (Steven Beard) – 18 points
  • Joe Relaxing At Home Circa 1946 (George Todd) – 18 points
  • Sharing A Moment (Mike Clark) – 18 points
  • This Isn’t Mean to be Funny (Elaine Gilroy) – 18 points
  • Call Yourself Photographers (Derek Muller) – 18 points

Well done to Steven Beard and Jennifer Davidson, who won this round with a 20 point image each. They both win the right to judge next year’s competition. Jennifer judged this competition 2 years ago, so it looks like Steven will be judging. After consulting the final spreadsheet I can reveal that the final result from all three competitions is:

  • 1st place
    • Derek Muller (53 + 56 = 109)
  • 2nd place
    • George Todd (54 + 54 = 108)
    • Jennifer Davidson (52 + 56 = 108)
  • 3rd place
    • Steven Beard (51 + 56 = 107)
  • 4th place
    • John Fowler (51 + 54 = 105)
  • 5th place
    • Mike Clark (54 + 50 = 104)
    • Carol Edmond (51 + 53 = 104)
  • 6th place
    • Malcolm Roberts (51 + 50 = 101)
    • Jim Innes (49 + 52 = 101)

George and Jennifer almost made it, but they couldn’t quite reach Derek Muller’s unassailable 109 points. Congratulations to Derek, who wins the trophy. Jennifer and Steven came from behind, which shows how everything can change after the 3rd round.

  • This is the last competition of the season, and George needs to engrave the trophies for the AGM. If you won a trophy last year please return it to George as soon as possible.
  • Next week we will be hosting Haddington Camera Club and Penicuik Photography Club for the 3-way competition. If you have any spare home baking or other treats to share please bring them along.

05 March 2026 (Swedish Interclub Meeting)

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For our first meeting in March 2026 we were delighted to be joined once again by members from Mölnlycke Fotoclubb, in Gothenburg, Sweden. The meeting was hosted at the Fisherrow Centre and Mölnlycke Fotoclubb members joined us by Zoom.

The evening began with Musselburgh members reviewing the 20 images submitted by Mölnlycke Fotoclubb. Some images had intriguing titles (e.g. “New Life and Dead”) that lead to a discussion about their meaning. The images demonstrated the wide range of styles of Mölnlycke Fotoclubb members. There were beautiful landscape images, portraits, candid street photography, wildlife photographs and some highly creative examples of photographic artworks. Musselburgh members voted for their favourites, and the most popular images were:

  • 1st place (8 votes)
    • A stark, long exposure, black and white shot of sea stacks photographed in the Hebrides.
    • A unusual, moody shot of a dramatic sky with black sand, photographed in Iceland
  • 2nd place (6 votes)
    • A lovely portrait of a woman in Laos, with fantastic skin detail.
    • A wildlife shot of 8 black-throated loons interacting.
  • 3rd place (5 votes)
    • A lovely shot of a cute red squirrel posing reflectively in a tree.
    • A bold and intriguing abstract artwork called “Winter Tree”.

Mölnlycke Fotoclubb members then commented on our 20 images, and their favourites were:

  • 1st place (9 votes):
    • The School Run (Jim Innes)
  • 2nd place (7 votes)
    • Lost in Thought (Ed Robertson)
  • 3rd place (6 votes)
    • Nothing Left To Give (Derek Muller)
    • Black Tailed Godwit (Nicola Cawthorne)
  • 5th place (5 votes)
    • Explosive Flower (Rick Riley)

Well done to Jim Innes, whose portrait of a mother in the Netherlands transporting her children on an unusual bicycle was declared our winner!

26 February 2026 (Set Subject Round 2 – Emotion)

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The second part of our three-part set subject competition took place this week, on the theme of “Emotion”. Malcolm Roberts had achieved a close second place in last year’s competition and agreed to judge this one because last year’s winner (John West) moved south. Malcolm began by explaining that he judged each image first on its interpretation of the theme of “Emotion” and then on the quality of each image. 13 members had entered 38 images. Some images demonstrated the “Emotion” theme by showing an emotion in their subject, with a simple title like “Joy”, “Love”, “Shock”, “Happiness”, “Terror” or “Despair” backing it up. Other images were more subtle and attempted to demonstrate an emotion felt by the photographer, or to instil an emotion in the viewer. For these images, it was important to get the title right. For example, Malcolm had trouble interpreting the emotion behind an image called “Fireplace”, but if it had been titled “I Love This Fireplace” or “Nostalgic Fireplace Memories” the emotional connection would have been clearer. There were lots of portraits showing individuals, musicians, family gatherings, groups of people interacting and actors on the stage. Jim Innes’ “Just a few more yards” caught the pain on the face of a runner approaching the finishing line. Images which demonstrated an emotion and also made contact with the viewer (by showing the subject’s eyes) scored the highest marks. Malcolm also commented on the technical quality of each image. The best images were well-composed, with the subject sharp and in-focus and a narrow depth of field removing background distractions. The top scorers were (in reverse order):

  • 5th place (51 points)
    • Steven Beard
  • 4th place (52 points)
    • Jim Innes
  • 3rd place (53 points)
    • Carol Edmond
  • 2nd place (54 points)
    • George Todd
  • 1st place (56 points)
    • Derek Muller

The top images were:

  • Shock (George Todd) – 20 points
  • Joy (Derek Muller) – 20 points
  • I’m in a Band (Arrogance) (Carol Edmond) – 19 points
  • Love (Derek Muller) – 19 points
  • My New Brother (Steven Beard) – 18 points
  • Happy to Sad (Mike Clark) – 18 points
  • Just a Few More Yards (Jim Innes) – 18 points
  • Happiness (Rick Riley) – 18 points

Derek Muller wins the right to judge next year’s competition. Well done Derek. Here is how the “league table” stands after two competitions:

Derek Muller (53 + 56 = 109)
Carol Edmond (51 + 53 = 104)
Mike Clark (54 + 49 = 103)
George Todd (— + 54) = ??
Nicola Cawthorne (53 + — = ??)
Jim Innes (49 + 52 = 101)
Jennifer Davidson (52 + 48 = 100)
Steven Beard (49 + 51 = 100)
Melanie Gallacher (51 + 48 = 99)
John Fowler (51 + 47 = 98)
Elaine Gilroy (51 + 47 = 98)
Malcolm Roberts (51 + — = ??)

Derek Muller is the one to beat, but Carol, Mike, George and Nicola are poised to catch up, depending on the result of the third and final round of the competition on the theme of “Comedy”. Entries are now open. Please send your three “Comedy” images to George Todd.

This Thursday we will be hosting Mölnlycke Fotoclubb, who will be joining us from Gothenburg, Sweden for our annual interclub meeting, where we view a selection of each other’s images, share comments and choose our favourites. We had some time left at the end of our competition to preview the images. The meeting will take place by Zoom, and members can choose whether to join from home or join the throng at the Fisherrow Centre. A Zoom link will be circulated to members soon.

19 February 2026 (Fiona Brims: I am not a wildlife photographer … But …)

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This week we were delighted to welcome Fiona Brims back to Musselburgh. Fiona had previously given us a talk on creative portraiture, where she had talked about her journey from beginner to expert in creative portraiture. This talk was different. Fiona admitted she is no expert at wildlife photography, mainly because she doesn’t like waiting in a hide for hours, but that doesn’t take away the joy of capturing photos of wild animals when the opportunity arises. Fiona recommended the following nature hides

but she usually goes to the public part of the hide, rather than the part reserved for photography bookings. Not being in a photography hide usually means the photos are taken from further away, or are taken from the wrong angle. So, most of the photos are not up to competition standard, but that doesn’t take away the joy of capturing a glimpse of a wild animal in its natural habitat. Fiona’s talk was divided into 4 parts:

  • Wild Birds and Animals. Fiona showed us some of her photographs of wild birds; from a short-eared owl photographed at Sheriffmuir, to a shot of a grey heron taken at close range, which Fiona described as “vicious” (don’t get too close to a heron). Some bird of prey shots came from the Hawk Conservancy Centre in Andover, and the ICBP centre in Newent (which has recently closed). The most captivating shots show an animal doing something different, such as the shot of a red squirrel drinking from a pond in Blairgowrie. A deer with 3 antlers was spotted at St Syrus Nature Reserve in Aberdeenshire, Fiona also compared shots of wild animals she had taken in South Africa and India, showing us the differences between the African and Asiatic lion. You can see some of Fiona’s wildlife photographs in her galleries: Birds of prey; Wildlife of India and African Wildlife.
  • Captive Birds and Animals. Fiona had visited animal sanctuaries, such as World of Wings and Munchester Castle, where you could get closer to some exotic birds, including an Egyptian ibis, a hooded vulture, several different kinds of owl, a goshawk and a black-chested buzzard eagle. Apparently, you can tell the size of a bird’s prey by the size of its talons.
  • Reptiles and Amphibians: We then moved indoors where Fiona showed us some shots of snakes, lizards, geckos and frogs under indoor lighting conditions. Some of the creatures were contained in a glass case, but you can eliminate the reflections from the case by pressing your lens against the glass. She also advised us to take a glass cleaning cloth, because you’ll find these glass cases almost always covered in fingerprints.
  • Creative Creatures: In the final part of the talk, Fiona revealed her expertise in creative compositions; showing us still life creations, where a snake curls around a clock or a raven investigates a model skull. Fiona sometimes uses animals in her creative portraiture, for example as seen in her Vikings gallery.

We finished with tea and biscuits as usual. Thank you Fiona for another fascinating talk.

  • Next Thursday (26th February) we will find out the result of our second set subject competition on the theme of “Emotion”. The deadline for entering the third competition, on the theme of “Comedy”, is a week later on 5th March.

12 February 2026 (Audio Visual Evening)

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This week we welcomed members from Penicuik Photography Club to Musselburgh for our annual audio visual evening. Musselburgh started the evening with a presentation made during a club photoshoot in Dalkeith Country Park, where members had been challenged to spot shapes in the woodland that could be turned into creatures with the aid of some googly eyes! Penicuik followed with a presentation which followed the route of the Seven Hills of Edinburgh event, giving information about each of the seven hills in turn. We then moved on to some individual presentations. Derek Muller introduced us his model Groot, which helped him create cinematic pictures set to great music. Brian Nicolson then showed a beautiful, nature-inspired video called Nature’s Beauty around Penicuik (click here to see it on YouTube). Steven Beard continued the nature theme and added some myth and legend with a presentation about Sherwood Forest. This was followed by Gordon Peerless’ video about Neildpath Castle, near Peebles. Charlie Baird then introduced her beautiful but heart-rending music video called Bittersweet (also available on YouTube). The evening then turned technical, with a a spectacular presentation by Bill Baird, in which fractals seemed to explode on the screen like fireworks. Everybody wanted to know how he did it (apparently using the magic of a fractal generator combined with Photoshop and a video creator). We then had two water-related presentations, with Mike Clark describing the life-cycle of grey seals, and Brian Salvona showing us some beautiful photographs and videos made at the Falls of Clyde. The evening turned technical again when Steven Beard showed us how to make 3-D photographs without using expensive equipment. Gordon Peerless then showed us some breathtaking displays from the Edinburgh Fire Dancing Club. We closed the evening with Derek Muller’s short “Goodbye”, made during our photoshoot at Cramond. We then broke for a delicious selection of sandwiches, cakes and biscuits provided by Jennifer Davidson and Amber Morris. Thank you to everyone who provided their videos.

  • Next week (Thursday 19th) Fiona Brims will be giving us a talk entitled “I am not a wildlife photographer…But…“. I look forward to it.

05 February 2026 (Quiz Night)

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This week the club had its annual quiz night, hosted by quiz-master Jim Innes, who was on last year’s winning team. Jim had devised 50 questions on various subjects, ranging from photography and science to history, sport and pop culture. Did you know that the “P” within “JPEG” stands for “Photographic”, or that the “K” in “CMYK” means “Key”? We also learned that Henry Fox Talbot’s photographic printing process was demonstrated only 5 years before the first Penny Black stamp was issued, and that a standard golf hole is only 4.25 inches in diameter. Club members split into 4 teams of 3 or 4, who marked their answers on a handy score sheet provided by Jim. After Jim had revealed the answers and the scores had been added up, the final result was:

  • 1st place (35 points) – The Blue Team (Ed Robertson, John Fowler, Rick Riley and George Smith).
  • 2nd place (25 points) – The Red Team (Kevin Johnston, Janet Ferrier, Mary Riley and Steven Beard)
  • 3rd place (23 points) – The Yellow Team (Jennifer Davidson, Charlie Baird and Gavin Marshall)
  • 4th place (21 points) – The Purple Team (George Todd, Mike Clark and Derek Muller)

Well done to the Blue Team, who won some chocolate and the right to host next year’s quiz. Although the 4-person teams did have a little bit of an advantage over the 3-person teams, the Blue Team was still way ahead of the rest of us. Rick Riley offered to be next year’s quiz-master. Well done again, and thanks to Jim for compiling a very entertaining and enlightening quiz.

Next week, 12th February, we will be hosting Penicuik Photography Club at the Fisherrow Centre for our joint audio visual evening. We’ll be starting at 7pm in room G3 as usual.

29 January 2026 (Set Subject Round 1 – Weather)

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This week was the first round of our 3-part set subject competition, on the theme of “Weather”. George Todd had won the first round last year and earned the right to judge this competition. There were 39 entries from 13 members. George began by discussing whether particular judges had favourites. SPF accredited judges are trained to give an unbiased critique of each image, and they will usually comment on the sharpness, composition, etc… But it is natural for a photographer with a specific speciality to judge images in that category against their own high standards; so an award-winning landscape photographer (for example) will tend to expect a high standard from landscape images. George said he would try not to let his preferences influence the marks, except for the images he doesn’t like… 😉 You can find out more about the SPF judging process on their web site:

SPF: All Things Judging and Lecturing

Members had chosen to represent the weather in a variety of ways. There were landscape images showing different weather phenomena, photographs of sporting events taking place in difficult weather conditions, and photographs of people or things enduring the weather. Most of the images showed bad weather, but Ed Robertson’s “We also get good weather” showed some lovely sunshine. George commented on the composition and sharpness of each image. Some images were spoiled by dust spots in the sky, or by post-processing faults. A few images were over-sharpened, which produced some unnatural effects. Snow scenes are difficult to get right, as you need to compensate for the blue hue and make sure there is still detail in the highlights. The best images were the ones that had nicely captured a weather event, were sharp in the right place, had well-handled exposure and colour and had avoided processing faults and distractions. Mike Clark’s “Frosty Morning” image nailed all those requirements and captured a rare view of undisturbed hoar frost on a jetty at Lock Ard. The top scorers were:

  • 4th place (51 points)
    • John Fowler
    • Malcolm Roberts
    • Elaine Gilroy
    • Carol Edmond
    • Melanie Gallacher
  • 3rd place (52 points)
    • Jennifer Davidson
  • 2nd place (53 points)
    • Derek Muller
    • Nicola Cawthorne
  • 1st place (54 points)
    • Mike Clark

The top images were:

  • Frosty Morning (Mike Clark) – 20 points
  • Break In The Storm (Derek Muller) – 19 points
  • First Winter Frost (Jennifer Davidson) – 19 points
  • Be Careful (John Fowler) – 18 points
  • Wild West Coast NZ (Malcolm Roberts) – 18 points
  • Rainbow Reflection (Steven Beard) – 18 points
  • Storm at Fairy Pools (Mike Clark) – 18 points
  • We also get good weather (Ed Robertson) – 18 points
  • Change in the Weather (Elaine Gilroy) – 18 points
  • Windy Golf Course (Carol Edmond) – 18 points
  • Misty Wet Madeira (Derek Muller) – 18 points
  • Lonely Walker Melanie Gallacher) – 18 points
  • More snow on the horizon (Nicola Cawthorne) – 18 points
  • Little boat before the storm (Nicola Cawthorne) – 18 points

Well done to Mike Clark, who wins the right to judge next year’s competition. Well done also to new member Nicola Cawthorne, who achieved an impressive 2nd place. This is just the first round out of 3, and the overall winner is the one who has the highest marks from their best two rounds. So the competition is still open, and there are a lot of members still in contention.

  • Please send your 3 JPEG images for the second round of this competition (on the theme “Emotion”) to George Todd this weekend. George needs the images early because he is going away on holiday and needs to pass them to Derek.
  • Next Thursday (5th February) we have our annual quiz night. Jim Innes will be this year’s quizmaster.
  • Please note that the 3-way competition has been moved from 12th March to 2nd April. Our “Photo Scavenger Hunt” will take place instead on 23rd April. Derek Muller is going to make use of the changes in March to give us a special indoor photoshoot (more details later).